Books

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

After Reading Gone with Wind , I wanted to read some Classic and came across The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough The Book is about Meggie Cleary and Ralph di Brisscart. Meggie Cleary is the only girl in a Cleary family dominated by men. When Meggie is 10 the Cleary's move to Austrailia from New Zealand for a great job opportunity. At this time Meggie meets Ralph di Brisscart - a priest. Their love for one another at first seems quiet harmless as she is 10 and he is 28 but as she turns into a women and doesn't understand why she can't have Ralph to herself as her husband their love for one another is tested by distance, time apart, and decisions that they each make in their lives.

Set in the back drop of the Austrailian outback, TTB covers a 25 year time span and 3 generations of Cleary's. The book touches on important world events such as, WWI and WWII in the back drop at points. And also delves into two important issues: religion (and it's roles in society)and philosophy, beliefs, morals (and their role combined with religion in society.)

Once I started to read it I couldn't do anything in my life but to keep reading untill I finish ityou laugh, you cry, you feel bad and you feel happy you feel like you became a part of the story living every single details.what a book !! I would say it was a MUST read.(less)

Saturday, June 15, 2013

A Walk to Remember is my second book by Nicholas Sparks the first being the Notebook . The book is about two teenagers who fall in love with each other in-spite of different of personalities.

The book helps you realize so much about life. Jamie Sullivan the daughter of the pastor Herbert.No one really likes Jamie at school they think she is not "normal" she is very quite a sweet to everyone no matter how or what they say to her.She is very religious. She helps everyone in need. Landon young man who attends the same school as Jamie he never talks to her. But the day comes when he has class with her and even asked her to the dance. After all the laughs he got from his friends for asking her he was ashamed he didn't even want to talk to her anymore. A play Jamie was doing was coming up she asked Landon if he would play the main part of the play, Landon didn't want to but he owed her an apologie from the other night when she was very sweet. He did the play and during spending time with Jamie he fell in love with her. He told her how he felt but Jamie told them that he could like her.He was confused. later on he found out she has Lukima. He was scared of losing Jamie. This was a test for him. He saw how she went through so much pain but he was always beside her. Landon and Jamie got married, but after a few moths she passed away it was hurtful to Landon.He learned to love her even though she wasn't there by his side.It is a quick read that will have you smiling and in tears all at the same time.

Synopsis: Ashoke
and Ashima natives of Calcutta move to United States after their arranged
marriage in India.Ashoke is a PhD student at MIT , soon after Ashima gives
birth to a son .They are undecided about theirs child’s name , ultimately
relying on a postal letter from Ashima’sgrandmother but letter is lost somewhere in transition, and they are
forced to choosea name for their son
before his release from Hospital. Ashoke decides to name his son “Gogol” after
Russian Author Nikolai Gogoland in memory of a tragic
train accident of his past.The Novel
revolves around the life of Ashoke , Ashima and their son Gogol .The cultural differences
and the generation gap between parents and kids. Gogol’s struggle in search of
his own identity and his embarrassment that surrounds his name. Ashima's
loneliness in a new country and how she adjusts and make it home.About the Author: Born in London to Bengali parents, Jhumpa
Lahiri currently resides in Brooklyn with her husband and two children. Her
debut work of fiction, a collection of short stories entitled Interpreter
of Maladies, won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She is currently a
member of the U.S. President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Her novel The
Namesake was also made into a 2007 filmMy Thoughts on the Book: I picked up this on the thought that I would
like reading it and was not least bit disappointed. Lahiri’s writing is poetic
and descriptive she is able to very well describe the lives of Ashoke , Ashima
and their family as Immigrants in USA although a
bit slow at times.The book is also made into a movie which I had seen many years ago before reading it.I liked the movie as much I had liked the book. All in all the book is expectedly excellent and a must read.

Synopsis : Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden is a book about Geisha ( Japanese women entertainer ) who sing, dance , talk and keep men company in order to entertain them.Chiyo (Who is known as Sayuri when she becomes Geisha ) is sold to a Geisha house in Gion after her mother's death , she does odd jobs there like cleaning and house chores .Later on she is enrolled in geisha school where she learns singing , dancing and more .An elder Geisha Hatsumomo is jealous of Sayuri and so her hope of becoming a Geisha comes to a stop until she meets a elder Geisha Mameha who eventually trains her to become Geisha and a successful one at that . Sayuri's life changes after second world war when the man she has always loved becomes her Danna ( A wealthy man, sometimes married, who had the means to support
the very large expenses related to a geisha's traditional training and
other costs.).

About The Author :Arthur Goldenis an American
writer born on December 6, 1956) .Golden was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
grew up on Lookout Mountain, Georgia, He spent his
middle and high school years at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, graduating in 1974. He
attended Harvard University and received a degree in art history, specializing
in Japanese art. In 1980, he earned an M.A. in Japanese history at Columbia
University, and also learned Mandarin Chinese. He currently lives in Brookline,
Massachusetts.The novel Memoirs of a Geisha was written over a 6-year period during
which Golden rewrote the entire novel three times, changing the point of view
before finally settling on the first person viewpoint of Sayuri. Interviews
with a number of geisha, including Mineko Iwaski provided background information about the
world of the geisha. It has sold more than four million copies in English and
has been translated into thirty-two languages around the world.

My Thoughts on the Book:This
novel is an amazing read that brings to life, vivid and colorful
characters. Being narrated in the first person, the reader feels a sense
of reality to the story. Golden’s ability to create clear imagery makes
the novel all the more spectacular. The novel uses many different jokes
and situations that will make the reader laugh and cry. It also
broadens the view of society on geisha and ancient tradition. Being
informative, hilarious, and inspirational, Memoirs of a Geisha is a well written book and It's one of my favorite.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

"Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits" by Laila Lalami provides a view on a different world. This book narrates the struggles of four Moroccans who attempt the 14-kilometer journey across the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain, to find better employment and better conditions for themselves and their families. I like the way Lalami structured her book, providing glimpses of each person's story both before and after the crossing.

The book opens with the treacherous journey and focuses on Faten, Noura, Halima and Aziz, then moves backwards to the events that brought them there The story follows their lives as they struggle to make their way in a strange land.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

The Sculptress by Minette Walters is surely one of the best a fascinating psychological crime thriller.It's been a while I read this book but I still remember that I was unable to put it down It is so engrossing that I kept on turning pages as to know what will happen next.

The book is about Olive Martin, a huge obese woman who was found with the dead bodies of her mother and younger
sister, she pleaded guilty to murder at her trial. Journalist Rosalind Leigh accepts a commission to write a book about
Olive, she finds herself wondering what lies behind all these facts that
everyone knows. When Roz first visits her in prison, she finds that
Olive is not quite what she expected. Roz is repeatedly
warned - Olive lies about almost everything, then why did she confess so
readily to two hideous murders? Roz may well wonder. The deeper she is
drawn into the shadowy, disturbing world of the Sculptress, the more
firmly she is convinced that Olive is hiding something

Swami and Friends by R.K. Narayan is simple to read book set in pre Independence days of India in a fictional town Malgudi.The author's style of writing is simple , humorous and subtle still so real.

It took me back to my childhood memories of school where in little things used to look like huge problems.

The story narrates events in life of Swami and his friends Rajam and Mani as how they became friends their mischief at school , strolling in hot afternoon sun , playing games, forming a cricket team and so on.

Monday, June 25, 2012

The Help is an amazing first book by Kathryn Stockett , it was quite engrossing , I loved reading it till the end as the story developed.The book is about black maids in Jackson, MS in the early 1960s where the Civil Rights movement was getting heated.Skeeter Phelan, is a young white woman just graduated from college and wishes to write. She wants to
create a novel based on interviews with the black maids .No one wants to cooperate because it's an extremely dangerous
task. Soon, Aibileen and Minny, maids of Jackson,
come together to help Skeeter with her project. It turns into something
so much bigger than any of them expected. This book is one of my favorites
and I recommend everyone read it as its It's complex, deep, entertaining, funny, depressing, inspirational and well written.Kathryn Stockett manages to make characters come to life with her descriptions.

Monday, May 14, 2012

First of all I would like to thank the author for hosting a Giveaway on Goodreads and for sending me the advanced e reader copy.

The Fall by Ryan Quinn is story of three friends at University in Florence.Haile
wants to break free of her controlling mother and find out what she
really wants from life and ability to
make her own decisions. Ian is a film buff who is struggling with being
comfortable with who he is and who he thinks others expect him to be, his father is a leading football
coach. Ian not only has
dropped football, and moved away but has also taken up tennis. Casey is a football jock who seems like the average guy with a girlfriend and who is studying medicine as a backup.

I would have liked for the characters to have had more of a connection. I
didn't feel they interacted in a close enough way to justify their
friendship and eventual relationship(Casey and Haile) .
Overall it's and easy read and probably you can give it a shot if you like the description.